


Underneath The Bruises

by piningbisexuals



Category: HIStory3 - 圈套 | HIStory3: Trapped (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, First Love, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, bad boy!Tang Yi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-22
Updated: 2020-10-14
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:21:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26578258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/piningbisexuals/pseuds/piningbisexuals
Summary: Tang Yi comes to class every day with a new wound. It feels like he’s been getting into fights forever, and no one in his school or at home seems to care about him. On the first day of senior year though, there is a new kid in his class. And he keeps insisting on helping him out.
Relationships: Meng Shaofei/Tang Yi
Comments: 61
Kudos: 242





	1. New Kid

**Author's Note:**

> In a way, you could consider this the little sister to my Trapped but in high school fic, which was my very first fic in the bl fandom & still my biggest fic in terms of hits. I do believe this story is stronger than the first one, so I hope you’ll enjoy it ;)
> 
> Follow me on tumblr @piningbisexuals!

For as long as he could remember, Tang Yi had fought. He still could see himself as a tiny kid making havoc and hitting his friends for no particular reason. At first it hadn’t been particularly scary for anyone around him. His foster family excused it because he was an orphan. But when he started middle school, it became more serious. The blows were harder, and his opponents became good too. He wasn’t the only one to attack anymore.

This only seemed to worsen as time passed, up until now. In his senior year of high school, Tang Yi was still fighting pretty much every day. It was kind of the highlight of his day, if he was honest. Not much else was going on for him.

While most of the borderline delinquents guys had found themselves a gang, Tang Yi was all alone. He’s never been interested in giving or receiving orders. He had no agenda at all. Those guys just hated his arrogant face, so he had to give them a beating.

And Tang Yi was good at it; he fought five, nine, twelve guys and always managed to flee the scene after having hit them all. Fighting so much meant he was basically a professional at it now.

But that didn’t mean he didn’t get hit in return, because he did. Quite a lot actually. Tang Yi had now sort of forgotten what he looked like without the bruises and wounds on his face. He wasn’t very eager to know, too.

Every day, his routine was the same. He’d be woken up extremely early by his foster parents shouting them around. There were fifteen of them in the house, and they all knew they were there so their “parents” could collect the government’s checks. In the end they were all just that, a check coming at the beginning of every month.

He didn’t have much relationships with the other kids either. They were all so fucked up in their own ways they preferred to keep their distance. Apart from the shouting of their foster parents, there wasn’t much noise in the house the rest of the time.

He’d usually take the freshly bought breakfast that was given to him and go eat it outside. There was a bench in a deserted park that he usually went to. Then the city started to wake up, and that’s when the trouble started.

On his way to school he usually always encountered at least one or two guys who had beef with him. They’d fight it out, then part ways. He’d go to school with a new bruise or cut, and stay there all day. Because of his swollen face, he scared everyone away. No one would even dare to give him a glance. It was like he was invisible, even though he did know everyone thought he was a serial killer and spread rumors behind his back. 

But Tang Yi liked it that way. Only one year, one small year, and he’d be free of it all. Of school, his so-called parents and siblings, and this feeling of emptiness in his chest. Or at least he hoped so. Though, in the depth of his heart, he knew he’d probably end up a low-life drug dealer or robber. No one would hire someone with a busted face like his.

That day, Tang Yi entered his school building on the first day of school for the very last time. That being said he knew nothing would’ve changed; he’d still be stuck with the same annoying teachers and classmates who ignore his existence altogether.

He arrived late to class, as always. He had gotten in a pretty bad fight that morning, with a full gang who he kept having trouble with. Because of it he had gained bruises all over his body and a bleeding cheek from where it’d hit the cement.

He entered the class casually, rushing to his usual spot at the very back of the class.

“You know what Tang Yi, I had hoped that you would’ve changed during these holidays, but apparently not,” his teacher commented.

Tang Yi despised him. He was always playing the irony card but he never once had come to ask him what was going on. He just wanted to look tough in front of his students. He ignored him completely and sat down, taking his stuff out of his bag.

As the teacher rambled on about a random topic, Tang Yi pulled his hood down as he got lost in his own thoughts. He never listened in class. He just couldn’t bring himself to care. He’ll just take pictures of the teacher’s pet’s notebooks right before the exams and call it a day.

He must have dozed off because he woke up as the bell rang, before going right back to sleep in the crook of his arms. The second class of the day must have started without him even realizing it because when he woke up it was already noon. With a yawn, Tang Yi stretched his arms in the empty classroom and decided to go search his lunch.

He spotted a nerdy student in the queue right when he arrived and came up to him. He passed an arm around him. The boy was so skinny he was afraid he’d break him in two. He smirked happily.

“Hey you. Pay for my lunch, yeah?”

The kid turned around to stare at the one who had the audacity to say such things. His expression went from annoyed to scared shitless in an instant. He nodded eagerly, his face having lost all of its colors.

“Sure!”

“Great,” Tang Yi smiled

The kid gave him his card to pay for his meal and with one last pat on the shoulder, Tang Yi was gone. He wished he could bring his tray up to the classroom, but the canteen workers just wouldn’t let him do so. Instead, he sat alone at the farthest table in a corner of the room. And thankfully no one bothered him. Not that they ever did.

When he went back to the classroom, there were already a few students who did their best not to look at him. He could recognize a few faces, some that had been in his class since the first year. Only one guy was staring at him, making Tang Yi stare back. He hadn’t seen him before. Must’ve been a new guy. He smirked. He’d soon learn not to look at Tang Yi like that.

When class resumed, Tang Yi felt a bit sleepy from lunch so he took a small nap. He woke up pretty early though, which exasperated him because he didn’t have anything else to do so he’d surely get bored. And Tang Yi despised boredom. It was the one thing ruling his days and nights. Boredom was his number one enemy.

He started balancing himself on his chair, playing with his ruler and pens, doodling on his notebook and ultimately deciding to steal the snack sticking out from the girl’s bag in front of him. The next half hour or so was spent munching on it while looking around the room. Everyone seemed so focused on the teacher’s words. Tang Yi didn’t even know how they could do it. For him, it was just background noise.

As Tang Yi threw the Pocky packaging in the trashcan right behind him, he met the new kid’s gaze. He was still looking at him. Tang Yi sighed. That dude really should learn his lesson soon. Someone would probably tell him all the disgusting rumors they had made up about him and it would scare him away. At least that’s what Tang Yi hoped.

Thankfully the day ended eventually. Tang Yi felt himself smirk as the classroom was emptying, seeing the girl in front of him rummaging through her bag for her snack only to become as pale as a ghost once she realized that Tang Yi was the only one who could have took it. She closed her bag and got out of the room as fast as she could, grabbing her best friend’s hand. Tang Yi would’ve to steal from someone else next time. She would never bring another snack to school.

Once there were only a few people left, Tang Yi started to pack up his stuff slowly. To be honest, he was in no rush. He’d still spend his afternoon scavenging through the streets to avoid boredom as much as he could. His foster parents had told them time and time again to never come home before 7 PM. That meant he had 4 hours to kill.

He closed his bag and got up from his chair, only to notice that the new kid was still in the classroom, alone with him. Worse than that, he was staring at him. Tang Yi raised his eyebrows at him, only making him walk closer. He was holding a bottle of rubbing alcohol and a pack of cotton pads. 

He smiled at Tang Yi, opening the bottle and putting a few drops of it liquid onto a cotton pad. “I’m sorry, I know we don’t know each other but I couldn’t help but notice that you were bleeding so I went to borrow these at the infirmary during recess.”

Tang Yi was honestly speechless. Not that he usually talked much anyway. The boy was now right in front of him and put the cotton pad on his wound, making him stare at him even more.

“I’m Shao Fei by the way. I just moved here which is not usual for my senior year, but...” he trailed off. “Apart from that, how did you get this wound?”

Tang Yi finally seemed to regain consciousness and pushed his hand away with a smirk. “You’ll learn soon enough.”

With that, he grabbed his bag and got out of the room as fast he could. On his way out of the building, Tang Yi couldn’t help but think about that Shao Fei guy. What a weird dude. He had never seen anyone care so much about a stranger they’d never met before. It honestly freaked Tang Yi out a bit. 

He shook his head, trying to forget about it. In a day that dude would be scared of him like all the others were anyway.

His arm was bleeding. The guy he had met on his way to school had pulled a knife on him, and luckily Tang Yi had successfully ran away, but not before his arm got cut. With a sigh, he took out his sock and tied it tightly around his arm to stop the bleeding. It didn’t fully work but it was all he could do.

He was late to class again. Though Tang Yi couldn’t remember coming to school in time ever since he had started going there. When he entered the classroom, he hid his arm with his bag so his teacher wouldn’t notice it. Teachers never cared about his wounds but they cared about blood on their classroom floor.

With a sigh, he ignored the snarky remark of their homeroom teacher and sat down, taking out his stuff. He didn’t manage to fall asleep this time, even though he hadn’t slept much that night. His arm stung. The bleeding was dwindling away but his whole forearm was covered in blood.

“Hey,” he asked the girl in front of him, “give me a tissue.”

She complied, still scared of him for stealing her snack the day before. Tang Yi cleaned as much blood as he could, finally able to see the extent of the wound. It thankfully wasn’t really that deep. It would probably leave a scar, though.

He spent the first period in full boredom, settling on doodling after a little while. When the bell rang, it was a liberation. He sprinted to the bathroom, ignoring the fact that he wasn’t alone, and cleaned his wound with water in the nearest sink.

The bathroom emptied quickly, leaving him alone for a few seconds. They didn’t last though, because the new kid came in right after, staring at him first in the mirror, then his arm. In a second or so, he was in front of him, grabbing his arm.

“Holy shit,” he said under his breath. “Okay, you need to go to the infirmary. I’ll go with you.”

Tang Yi stared at him with what he hoped was his scariest gaze. “No thank you,” he responded, pulling his arm away.

The other guy looked at him with surprise. “Allow me to insist, though. You’ll never be able to focus on class with a bloody -”

Tang Yi pushed him away, only a meter or so. “Dude, can’t you take a cue? I don’t need your help.”

“But you do, though.”

Tang Yi sighed loudly. Now that guy was pissing him off. “Didn’t anybody tell you? You shouldn’t come near me. I’ve killed someone.”

He had said so his gaze buried deep in his, and for an instant it seemed as if he had finally scared him off. Until… the guy started chuckling.

“You really think you can scare me away that easily?” he guffawed. “Nice try.”

Tang Yi furrowed his eyebrows. “It’s true, though. Ask anyone in this school.”

The new kid adopted an incredulous expression. “Yeah, right. If you had killed someone you’d be in prison.”

It was Tang Yi’s turn to scoff. “You really believe everyone who deserves to go to prison goes in there?”

It seemed to shut him up, seemingly struggling to find his words. Tang Yi spoke again. “Leave me the fuck alone, okay?”

And with that, he was gone, going back to class as quickly as he had left it. When Shao Fei entered it a few minutes after him, he couldn’t help but stare at Tang Yi who ignored him entirely.

Tang Yi got lucky because in the next few days he only got a few bruises on his body, nothing too noticeable. He’d also get into fights in the afternoon and these were a lot scarier because it usually involve full gangs. Thankfully he had finished his first week of senior year in relative peace.

The new kid would still stare at him though he hadn’t approached him again. He had started making friends and he seemed to be the kind of guy liked by everyone. He was just… too friendly. He’d always make a loud greeting when he entered the classroom, looking everyone in the eyes – except Tang Yi of course, who completely ignored him.

Tang Yi tended to despise these kinds of people, the ones who pretend to care so much about everyone when in reality they just want to be the center of attention. Even though he couldn’t care less about anyone in his class, at least he sort of respected the ones who kept to themselves. These kinds of popularity seekers didn’t do well with him.

But the guy would keep looking at him all day long, even when his new friends whispered things into his ear when the teacher wasn’t looking. Apart from annoying him, it mostly made Tang Yi uncomfortable. Before he truly felt like he could drop dead right on his chair and no one would even notice. Now though he always had these guy’s eyes on him. And it made him feel uneasy.

Week-ends consisted in Tang Yi watching tv for an unhealthy amount of time and working out way too much to pass the time. Most of his days were about avoiding boredom. A lot of it spent roaming around empty streets with a sense of purposelessness.

Most people hated Mondays, but not Tang Yi. He could at least admit to himself that even the particular hell that was school was better than two full days at home with his deadbeat foster parents. At least it gave his life a sort of regularity.

He had gotten in a fight again. This time he only had a few scratches, notably one on his forearm, right under his elbow. He could feel the annoying guy stare at it while he got his stuff out of his bag. He spent the next period thinking about what he’d do if he came up to him. Maybe he’d actually punch him like he so desperately wanted to.

When the first bell rang, Tang Yi observed him move from the corner of his eyes. The boy went out of the room and he felt himself sigh in victory. One less thing to care about. Tang Yi laid his head on his forearms and went to sleep until lunch.

“Tang Yi.”

Someone was touching his shoulder, shaking it lightly to wake him up. It was surprising. Normally not even teachers would dare to put a finger on him. He looked up, finding the new guy towering over him with a bottle of rubbing alcohol and cotton pads in hand. He exhaled loudly, getting up suddenly.

“What do you want?”

He was standing very close to the guy, close enough to see the strand of hair sticking out from the dark mass on top of his head.

“I just brought you things to clean the scratch on your arm -”

Tang Yi pulled him by the collar, faces only a few inches away. “What did I say last time, fucking pushover? Leave me the fuck alone.”

Shao put his hands on top of his, trying to get him to release him. “Dude. I’m trying to help you.”

“I don’t want your fucking help,” Tang Yi declared, pushing him away. The back of his legs hit a nearby table and he seemed shocked for a few seconds. Tang Yi walked away, trying to get out of the classroom.

“Do you really enjoy being a cliche that much?”

He stopped on his tracks for a few seconds, before turning around with a smirk. “You’re really talking about cliches right now?”

Shao Fei walked up to him with a proud smile. He seemed content to have stopped him. “Why?”

Tang Yi chuckled, pointing a finger in his direction. “Dude, you’re the epitome of a cliche. You come in with your dumb smiles saying hello to everyone, trying to be friend with them all and seeming like a nice guy, but it doesn’t work on me. I hate people who try too hard to be liked. Buying them by sharing your notes and snacks with them.”

Instead of looking discountenanced, Shao Fei grinned. “You’ve been observing me.”

Tang Yi’s facade faltered for a second, before he regained some sort of composure. “You speak so loud even the class next to us can hear you clearly.”

Shao Fei grabbed a cotton and poured the antiseptic liquid on it as he spoke. “As I said, you should stop being a cliche. The bully role doesn’t suit you.”

Tang Yi scoffed. “I think it does, with my face.”

Shao Fei grabbed his arm and put the cotton on it, bringing it in front of his mouth so he could blow on the wound. Tang Yi pulled his arm away. The new guy stared at him.

“I think you have a very beautiful face, underneath all these bruises.”

Tang Yi stared at him, incapable of even attempting to think of a comeback. Before he could even realize it, Shao Fei was putting a plaster over his wound.

“Here you go,” he smiled. “See, wasn’t that hard!”

Usually the condescending tone would send Tang Yi in a huge rage, but not at that moment. Instead he shrugged and pushed Shao Fei out of his way to go to the canteen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always the first chapter doesn't have much romance because it needs to set up the whole foundations for the story but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless. I already enjoy writing Tang Yi a lot, I adore angsty & introverted characters :)


	2. Wide-Eyed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A new chapter! This one felt so easy to write and I’m really happy at how it came out. Hope you enjoy it :)

Tang Yi had given up. Well, more like Shao Fei had worn him down. After a full month of trying to push the guy away, he’d had to admit defeat. That wide-eyed boy was way too persistent for him, and he’d learned that letting him do as he wished was actually quicker than trying to scare him off.

It didn’t mean Tang Yi wasn’t pissed, though. He really didn’t get it. By now Shao Fei was perfectly integrated in their school. He had heaps of friends and was probably in the ten most popular people in their grade. Everyone knew and loved him. So why did he care about Tang Yi at all?

It’s not like Tang Yi added to his popularity at all, in fact he mostly took away from it. In the past few weeks, Shao Fei’s friends had come to notice that he always stayed behind when only Tang Yi was left in the classroom. He had also managed to hear a conversation between them as they talked in front of the door, unaware that he could hear their every word.

“I’ll join you at the canteen, okay?” Shao Fei had announced.

“Why are you going back inside?” asked a girl, probably one of the many who was always hanging out around him.

“I have to take care of something.”

“It doesn’t concern… Tang Yi, does it?” She whispered, a shiver going through her voice. Tang Yi smirked.

Shao Fei sighed. “I’m just gonna help him clean his wound.”

“You can’t!” she exclaimed suddenly. “Shao Fei, he’s dangerous.”

“Yi Qi, I’ve done it many times. He’s fine. I can’t let him bleed without helping him. That’s just against my morals.”

She scoffed. “He’ll get a new wound tomorrow… so why would it change anything.”

Shao Fei didn’t reply. “I’ll see you at the canteen.”

When he had entered the classroom, Tang Yi hadn’t been able to help staring at him. Shao Fei made a shy face. “You heard everything, did you?”

Tang Yi smirked. “She’s right, you know. I’m very dangerous.”

“Because you killed someone?” Shao Fei teased.

“And much more.”

He had just chuckled and poured the rubbing alcohol on a cotton pad.

That morning, Tang Yi was not having it. Two of his foster siblings had pulled out knives on each other the night before during dinner and it had been a whole mess. He had tried to stop it and had only ended up with a stab wound on his lower chest. Thankfully the knife hadn’t gone very deep or it could’ve caused problems, but since his foster parents didn’t want to alert the authorities in case they’d take their monthly checks, whoops, foster kids away, they had been the ones to treat him.

It hurt. Tang Yi was used to pain, but this hurt a lot. He could barely move his belly at all. This day would probably seem endless.

When he entered the class as the teacher ignored him entirely, Shao Fei gave him a surprised glance. He’d always do that when he saw no new wound on Tang Yi, only old ones healing instead. It’s almost as if he was proud of him for not fighting. Tang Yi rolled his eyes. If only he knew the wound he was hiding underneath his hoodie.

During the first recess, he went up to his table. “Well, I’m impressed with you. You haven’t fought in three days.”

Tang Yi grinned ironically. “A new record.”

Shao Fei chuckled. “You should keep that up.”

He shrugged as one of Shao Fei’s friends called him out of the classroom.

Tang Yi had quickly noticed that something was up with him. He felt unbelievably weak, weaker than when he had gotten beaten up by a whole gang and barely made it out alive. The pain in his abdomen was getting worse as time passed, and he was having the worst headache of his life.

He still waited until lunch, hoping that food would make him feel better. When the bell rang he could feel Shao Fei’s eyes on him as the classroom emptied. Once they were alone, Shao Fei went to him and put a hand on his shoulder. Tang Yi stared at it, not knowing how to react.

“Tang Yi, are you okay? You’re very pale.”

He nodded. “I’m fine. Follow your friends.”

Shao Fei stared deep into his soul. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, Shao Fei. Go,” he replied, watching him walk away.

Once he was out of sight, Tang Yi did his best to get up, face scrunched up with effort. He started walking a few tentative steps, but felt his ears ring as he fell to the ground.

The first thing he saw when he woke up was the stark white ceiling of the infirmary. He knew immediately it was the infirmary because he was in a bed. He turned around to see Shao Fei next to him, smiling. He got up and called the nurse.

“Miss, he woke up!”

As she was coming up to him, Tang Yi realized he was shirtless underneath the cover tucked over him. Shit.

“Well, Mister. You scared your classmate quite a lot.”

Tang Yi threw her an apologetic smile, though he knew he was about to have a lot of explaining to do.

“So, how did you get this wound at the hip?” she questioned.

Tang Yi bit his lip. “I got attacked this morning as I was walking to school.”

She had an incredulous look on her face. “Really?”

He nodded eagerly. “A guy tried to rob me and since I wouldn’t let him he stabbed me.”

“So you bandaged your wound yourself?”

“Yes.”

She brought her hand to his face, turning it around to observe the many bruises and cuts on it. “You have quite the look with those on your face,” she remarked.

Tang Yi glanced at Shao Fei with panic. He didn’t know what to reply to that. Should he be honest and tell her he got into fights daily? That wouldn’t be great.

“That’s because he’s a boxer,” Shao Fei declared.

Both the nurse and Tang Yi stared at him. “Really?” she wondered.

Shao Fei nodded, meeting Tang Yi’s gaze. “Yes. He’s been boxing for a very long time so that why he’s so bruised. Right, Tang Yi?”

Tang Yi nodded eagerly too. “Yes. That’s exactly it.”

The nurse sighed, clearly only half buying what they were saying. “Okay. So you were very lucky because no organ was touched by the knife, but you should take it easy in the next few days. And eat more too, that’s why you fainted. I’ll keep you in the infirmary for the rest of the day, okay?”

“Okay ma’am,” he replied with a small smile.

She looked at Shao Fei who got up. “You can go back to class now. I know you insisted on missing a period to look after your friend but I can’t have you miss the whole afternoon.”

Shao Fei nodded. “Okay ma’am!”

Tang Yi watched him go while he waved at him, astonished at the fact that he would miss class for him. First of all, Shao Fei was quite an excellent student and usually wouldn’t miss a word from the teacher. Second of all, this was pushing his morals of helping others a little far.

Tang Yi spent his whole afternoon alternating between dozing off and listening the nurse’s discussions with the other students present in the infirmary. Mostly sleeping, though. He hadn’t done that at all last night, too scared he’d get stabbed again.

He’d get woken up by the bell ringing ever hour though, and after a few ones he realized his class had just been dismissed. He got up from his bed and put his shirt back on, before grabbing his bag to go. He said his goodbyes to the nurse and went in the hall.

There he discovered a running mass who stopped right in front of him.

“You were released,” Shao Fei declared.

Tang Yi nodded. The boy extended his hand right under his nose, opening it to reveal a colorful packet. “I brought you a snack. Wouldn’t want you to faint again.”

Tang Yi stared at it for a minute, before Shao Fei sighed and grabbed his hand to put the noisy packaging in it. Tang Yi didn’t reply anything, instead just opening the packet and starting to eat. Shao Fei watched him with a satisfied grin.

They started walking out of the building – more like Tang Yi walked and Shao Fei followed him around like a lost puppy.

“Okay so tell me, who stabbed you?”

Tang Yi chuckled. “Aren’t you curious.”

Shao Fei pouted as Tang Yi felt the irresistible urge to laugh. He looked ridiculous like that. “Oh, come on!”

“You’ll never know,” he replied, gobbling down the last piece of snack and throwing the packet in a trashcan.

“I lied for you, come on!”

Tang Yi raised his eyebrows. They were now on the streets, and he was wondering whether the guy would let him be or follow him home too. “I didn’t ask you to do so, though.”

Shao Fei was still making that absurd face but this time it didn’t feel as hilarious. “I know, I know. You don’t want my help. But I’m giving it to you anyway.”

They arrived at a bus stop and Shao Fei’s steps ended there. “This is my stop.”

Tang Yi nodded, and went on with his own path. He could feel his gaze on his back. The more he went forward, the more he felt the irresistible pull to stop. When he finally felt himself able to turn around, he shouted.

“My foster brother stabbed me!”

But he was only greeted by a red bus which doors were already closed. He watched it drive away as Shao Fei waved at him from his seat, grinning at the window. Tang Yi sighed, and walked slowly back home.

Tang Yi didn’t really let it go, the fact that he’d been willing to reveal the truth about his life to that pushover Shao Fei. It felt weird. It’s like he trusted this guy or something. Tang Yi hated that feeling more than anything, because he knew that meant he’d get betrayed yet again. No one was trustworthy in this world except himself.

He also started thinking about the possible reason why Shao Fei would care this much about him. This went over his skewed principles of peace and love and entered a whole new territory. It made Tang Yi realize that the guy was kind of obsessed with him. Like, really obsessed.

The next day, he decided to observe his behavior in order to come to a conclusion. And Shao Fei stared at him a little too much, even for someone as weird as him. Tang Yi counted 48 head turns in six hours of class. Even when Tang Yi had developed a tiny crush on one of the girls in his sophomore class, he hadn’t given her that much attention. And Shao Fei stared for a long time, usual wide eyes and lips slightly parted as if he was blanking out.

During the lunch break, Tang Yi researched “what does it mean when someone stares at you for a long time.” The answer was clear: Shao Fei had feelings for him. Tang Yi sat there, alone at his table while his food was getting cold. He was smiling. It was the first time someone liked him. No one had ever even looked twice at him.

But Shao Fei liked him, bruises and all. He liked his fucked up face and his aggressiveness. Tang Yi would be lying he didn’t admit that it felt good to be wanted for the first time in his life.

When the last bell of the day rang and the class emptied, Shao Fei hopped in his direction with an easy smile, school bag in hand. He arrived in front of Tang Yi’s table as he was getting up.

“Hey. How’s your stab wound?” he asked.

Tang Yi shrugged. “Okay.”

They started walking out of the classroom when Shao Fei stretched his arm in front of him. Tang Yi took the snack that was hanging between his fingers.

“I got you another snack today,” he simply uttered.

Tang Yi smiled as he looked at the snack, putting it in the back pocket of his bag. “I’ll eat it later.”

Shao Fei nodded, and they fell silent. It was right when they passed a small hallway that was always deserted because rumors were saying ghosts haunted it. Tang Yi pulled Shao Fei in it by the wrist, pushing him against the wall.

Shao Fei was staring at him in surprise, his eyes unusually big. “What are you doing?”

Tang Yi rested his palms on the bumpy wall, right next to his head. He tried to think it out for a few seconds, what he was about to do. Finally, he settled on what he had seen in movies and TV shows.

He leaned in quickly and put his lips on Shao Fei’s, moving them probably a little too fast. It was his first kiss after all. He then realized he should close his eyes, so he did, and he felt Shao Fei’s hands fall around his waist, grabbing his hoodie.

When he pulled away to catch his breath, Shao Fei was bright red. “Tang Yi, what the fuck?”

His only answer was to kiss him again, much deeper this time as his school bag fell to the ground and he guided Shao Fei’s bag in the same direction. Even if the guy wanted to act surprised, Tang Yi noticed that he was kissing him back.

That’s when he let his hand wander to the edge of Shao Fei’s pants, starting to unbuckle his belt. Hands pushed him slightly away as their lips let go of each other. Shao Fei’s brows were furrowed, but Tang Yi ignored them in favor of focusing on the belt. Unbuckling it was harder than it seemed in the movies.

“What are you doing?”

Tang Yi smirked as he finally unbuckled it, going for the button when Shao Fei’s hands came on top of his, stopping them in their tracks.

“Tang Yi, what do you wanna do?”

The taller guy rolled his eyes. “You like me, so you want to fuck me, right? Let’s do it then.”

Shao Fei’s eyes widened again as Tang Yi’s hands started moving on his pants again. Shao Fei’s hands grabbed them harder this time. Tang Yi finally looked up in his direction. He looked angry.

“Tang Yi… is that how you see me?” he whispered.

“Uh?” He was confused.

Shao Fei finally pushed him away, his body hitting the wall across the hallway. Shao Fei’s hands worked on closing his belt again as he ignored Tang Yi’s gaze.

“I don’t understand,” Tang Yi spoke in the dead silence. “Don’t you like me?”

Shao Fei met his eyes again as he put his bag back on his shoulder. “Not right now, no.”

And with that, he was walking away. Tang Yi stared at his silhouette with only interrogations in mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tang Yi is a dumb dumb who doesn’t understand social cues at all lol. Guess you’ll have to wait for the next chapter to see the repercussions of his impromptu make-out session hehe. Hope you liked this chapter! :)


	3. Shao Fei

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has a few paragraphs on depressive thoughts. If it could trigger you, don’t read it. I tried to be as light with it as I could though. Apart from that, this chapter is angsty but the end is very VERY soft. Like, it’s pretty much marshmallow. So I hope it makes up for the rest :)

Tang Yi sighed as he went to school already late, for once. Usually he’d even go in advance but get pulled into a fight so he ended up late anyway. This time fight or not, there was no way he’ d arrive on time. Not that he cared. He yawned loudly as he passed three guys slightly older than him. One of them grabbed him by the arm. He stared at them.

“Hey, it’s the guy who punched me in the stomach a few months ago!” the one who had seized his sleeve said to his friends.

They chuckled. “Should we teach him a lesson?” The second one offered.

Before they could even attempt to hit him in any way, Tang Yi punched the guy holding him in place in the stomach, the only place he could hit. The guy screamed as Tang Yi ran away, a hand on his stab wound.

“He punched me in the same place again, that bastard!” the guy shouted, his two friends running after him to try and save their buddie’s honor.

Luckily for Tang Yi he had both long legs and an ability for running. He ran for a while, hearing them scream behind him, until he found a deserted alley he hid himself in. He waited for a few minutes until he couldn’t hear footsteps or talking. He sighed as he got out of there, trying to find his way back to school.

“He’s here!”

The guy he had punched had caught up to him and was at the end of the street, running in his direction. In his precipitation, and because he was taken by surprise, Tang Yi tried to turn around in a rush and start running at the same time, making him fall as his ankle twisted.

Ignoring the pain, he got up and started running as fast a he could with his now sprained ankle, managing to lose the guy after many minutes. As he caught his breath, Tang Yi realized he wasn’t too far from his high school. Though he was almost an hour late now. His teacher would pick on him for sure.

As fast as he could with his limping ankle, he walked to school. When he entered the class, he ignored his teacher’s words and went straight to his seat. Surprisingly, he could still feel Shao Fei’s gaze on him. He had expected him to completely ignore him from now on.

As the class started up again, Tang Yi looked in his direction, making him turn his head away as if he’d been caught doing something forbidden. The truth was that Tang Yi felt a bit bad. Even though he was an asshole, he hadn’t wanted to force Shao Fei into doing things with him he didn’t want to. He had genuinely thought the guy liked him.

The rest of the morning was spent dozing off in the crook of his arms, barely noticing the change of teacher before lunch time was here. Tang Yi stretched his arms as the last few students left the classroom. When he opened his eyes, Shao Fei was here. He stared at him without a word, even though he wanted to say a lot.

“You were limping when you came in,” Shao Fei simply said.

“You’re still talking to me?” he asked, because that’s all he could think about.

Shao Fei didn’t reply anything. Instead, he grabbed Tang Yi by the arm and pulled him up. The taller guy hissed when his weight shifted onto his ankle.

“Can you walk?” he wondered as he pushed himself out of the way.

Tang Yi tried his best to walk, with his hands resting on the tables to take off a part of his weight. He could walk, but it hurt quite a lot. Now that his ankle had been cooled off the pain was even worse than in the heat of the action.

“You should go to the infirmary.”

Tang Yi sighed. “It’s okay. It’ll be healed in a few days.”

“Tang Yi,” he uttered with a stern look on his face. “Let’s go to the infirmary.”

Shao Fei had ended up passing Tang Yi’s arm over his shoulder to support more of his weight, which made Tang Yi insecure because he looked weak in that moment and it went against the image of the resident bad boy he had built over the past three years. Thankfully, there was no one in the hallway, the students and teachers having all gone to the canteen for lunch.

“Why are you still helping me?” Tang Yi asked. Was Shao Fei that much of a morals-obsessed guy?

He didn’t reply anything. Tang Yi sighed. “Listen, I really thought you liked me -”

“Tang Yi, shut up,” Shao Fei scolded with his eyes half closed.

Tang Yi stopped walking, pushing him off him as he grabbed his collar. “Don’t speak to me like that. I’ve been really nice to you so far, don’t jinx it.”

Shao Fei chuckled. He looked very different from usual. More somber, sarcastic, sad… Tang Yi didn’t like it.

“What are you gonna do, kiss me again?” He said with a smirk.

Tang Yi shook his head. “I thought you liked me but you don’t. Let’s forget it ever happened.”

Shao Fei laughed again, though he couldn’t meet his gaze. “It’s not about liking at all, Tang Yi. It’s about the fact that you wanted us to fuck in a freaking haunted hallway when we’re not even together yet.”

Tang Yi stopped in his tracks and stared at him with curious eyes, loosening his hold on his collar. “What do you mean we’re not together yet? I thought you didn’t like me.”

Shao Fei closed his eyes again, his head resting against the wall. “I never said I didn’t like you. I just said what you did was wrong.”

Tang Yi was really confused now. “What did I do wrong, then?”

Shao Fei finally met his eyes and got closer to him. “You used me as if I was some random whore. What I want is a cute romance, not some secret hook up at school.”

“Why do you like me, Shao Fei?” was all Tang Yi could formulate.

The other boy chuckled again. “How would I know? Do you think feelings can be chosen?”

Tang Yi shook his head. No. Feelings just happened and then people had to deal with them even if they were unwanted.

“Aren’t you gonna say sorry?”

Tang Yi furrowed his brows. “For what?”

“For being a fuckboy who used my feelings for you as a weapon to get us to have sex,” he replied.

It was Tang Yi’s turn to laugh. “I’m not a fuckboy, Shao Fei. I’ve never even had a relationship.”

Shao Fei stared at him with a smirk. “Well… I didn’t expect that. I still deserve an apology though.”

Tang Yi rolled his eyes. “I will never apologize to you, or anyone for that matter.”

“You never say thank you either.”

Tang Yi sighed, and attempted to walk by himself though it was both slow and painful. Shao Fei joined his sighing contest and grabbed his arm to put it back on his shoulder, his other arm going around his waist to support him.

“If I could choose who to like, believe me… I wouldn’t have chosen you.”

Tang Yi felt a shiver travel his body. He could get why. If he could choose a body to be alive in, he wouldn’t choose himself either.

The nurse had grown even more suspicious. Tang Yi didn’t blame her.

“So last week you got stabbed in the street, this week you lost your balance over an irregular cobblestone… You’re not very lucky are you?” she had teased.

Tang Yi had shrugged with a tiny smile. After having iced his ankle and given him some medicine, she sent him to class. “I can’t exactly let you spend all of your afternoons in the infirmary, can I?”

Tang Yi limped to class, ignoring his teacher and classmates surprised eyes when they realized he wasn’t walking properly. It was the first time they say him weakened. They’d seen him beaten black and blue but he always stood tall and proud. Now he was bent down like an elder in the sun.

He slept the whole afternoon sleeping. He wasn’t too tired but he couldn’t see himself do anything else. He was in a bad mood of sorts. Well… it’s not like he was usually happy either.

Tang Yi could vividly remember the last day he’d felt happy. He was with his first adoptive father, who was soft and loving to him. He must have been 5, or 6. They had gone on a little week-end trip to the mountains. He could still see the flash of colors from the sites they had been to. He could still hear his father’s laugh as he carried him on his shoulders.

The next day, he had been killed. And Tang Yi had been put back in the foster system. Since then, Tang Yi had never been happy ever again.

But it didn’t mean he didn't have worse days than others. Today was one of those. He couldn’t exactly pinpoint why, but he felt particularly useless. He’d always felt like his life had no purpose, but it was particularly strong that day. Why keep on living if it was to suffer like that?

It’s not like Tang Yi had anything tying him down. He hated his foster parents, his foster siblings, his school, his classmates. He hated the dicks who fought with him every day. He had no passion for anything, no joy, no nothing. So when he imagined what his life would be like in 5 years, or 10… it didn’t make him want to keep on living.

It wasn’t the first time Tang Yi had thoughts about ending it all. It happened quite frequently, depending on the period. It was the first time in a few months, though. However, he knew he would never go through it. Even when he knew pain by heart and was used to feeling it on the daily, he was too much of a coward to actually inflict it upon himself.

And so he’d get to live to see who he’d be in 5 and 10 years. If one of those delinquents who despised him didn’t kill him before that.

The bell rang but Tang Yi kept sleeping. He didn’t want to go home yet, or worse, wander in the streets waiting until his foster parents would accept him home. He’d be woken up by the janitor anyway. It had happened before.

“Tang Yi,” Shao Fei called out from over him.

He squeezed his eyes shut even tighter. He didn’t want to see him. He didn’t want to deal with the fact that he hated him, that he hated liking him. Tang Yi had to admit he had been excited to be liked by someone who overlooked all of his armor and saw right through him. But in the end, Shao Fei didn’t want to like him. He didn’t want anything to do with him.

Tang Yi felt something in his hair. Soft. It was fingers massaging his scalp, playing with his strands of jet black hair. He felt himself relax at the touch, though he still couldn’t look up.

“Do you hate me, Shao Fei?” he asked, because he needed to know. In fact it felt like the only thing he had to know.

Shao Fei chuckled, his hand freezing in his hair, probably ashamed to have been caught. Tang Yi brought his hand and put it on top of his, keeping it in place. He knew Shao Fei was looking at his broken, swollen hand. Permanently marred from the many bodies it had hit.

“I don’t hate you, Tang Yi.”

Tang Yi heard himself sigh in relief. “Then, do I annoy you?”

“Sometimes, yeah. When you’re particularly cold to me. When you try to pretend you don’t feel anything.”

He finally looked up in his direction, letting go of his hand. He wanted to deny it all, but couldn’t bring himself to do so. Instead he grabbed Shao Fei by the waist, his arms going around his back as he buried his head in his stomach. Shao Fei produced a surprised noise before his hands went back to Tang Yi’s hair, caressing it tenderly.

Tang Yi was trying hard to talk, to say things, but he simply couldn’t. There was a ball of nerve and the unknown in his throat preventing him from doing so. Instead he pushed his head closer to Shao Fei’s body, smelling his shirt, feeling his body between his arms. 

He didn’t know what he wanted to do, exactly. What he wanted to express. Shao Fei seemed to understand, though. His hands went down on his cheeks, pushing him a bit away so he could look at him. When Tang Yi finally met his gaze, his brain went blank. Shao Fei was smiling. Somehow, it was all that mattered.

Shao Fei lowered himself so their faces could be at the same height before kissing him. It was a small, chaste, simple kiss. It made Tang Yi want to cry. When Shao Fei let go of him, he looked peaceful. It seemed like he had understood.

“Come on,” he said. “I’ll accompany you home. You’ll need a crutch anyway.”

Tang Yi nodded, getting up and packing his stuff. When Shao Fei took his arms to pass him over his shoulders, he couldn’t help but kiss him again. Shao Fei hit him on the forehead, making Tang Yi worry for a few seconds. But actually, Shao Fei’s smile was wider than ever before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaaaah! This fic is truly writing itself, I am so happy when the process goes over super smoothly. There’s only one last chapter left. I think you’ll like it :)


	4. Boyfriend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so finally there will be 5 chapters to this, I couldn’t fit the ending I wanted in only one chapter lol. I hope you enjoy this one, it’s so sweet it will give you cavities ;)

“Took you long enough!”

Tang Yi looked up to see Shao Fei posted in front of his building. He was carrying what Tang Yi imagined was his breakfast in a bag, just like Tang Yi did with his own. It was also way too early to have waited for him.

“Why are you here?”

Shao Fei walked closer to him with a smile, before leaving a peck on his lips. Tang Yi scrunched up his nose. “Don’t do that here. My step siblings might see.”

Shao Fei pouted. “But we kissed right here yesterday, though.”

Tang Yi sighed. “My foster siblings were all home by then. Now they’re gonna go out at any moment.”

Shao Fei rolled his eyes as he laced their hands together. “Whatever. Tomorrow I’ll buy you breakfast, okay? No need to go eat on a bench for no reason.”

Tang Yi’s eyebrows went up on his forehead. “Because you’ll come here tomorrow too?”

Shao Fei smirked. “Well of course, I gotta be here to accompany my boyfriend to school, don’t I?”

Tang Yi just stared at him. That guy was insane. “Wait a minute, when did we agree to become boyfriends?”

Shao Fei wiggled his eyebrows as he squeezed his hand. “Well, you know… yesterday you admitted you’re madly in love with me, so…”

“I did that?” he chuckled.

Shao Fei nodded eagerly. “You didn’t even need to use words.”

Tang Yi felt himself laugh, a huge smile forming on his lips. Something was for sure, eating with Shao Fei was much less boring than eating alone.

“You’re not gonna be all over me today, are you?” Tang Yi asked as they reached the street adjacent to their school and he let go of his hand. It had kind of been a miracle that they hadn’t been attacked that morning.

“What do you mean?” Shao Fei replied, genuinely confused.

“Let’s keep acting like usual, okay? I don’t want to attract attention.”

He had expected some reluctance from Shao Fei, but to his surprise the other guy nodded. “Okay. You’ll just eat lunch with me from now on.”

Tang Yi shook his head aggressively as he chuckled. “No way. I don’t think so.”

Suddenly, Shao Fei’s hands were on his face, making him meet his gaze. “Tang Yi.” Was all he said.

“Hey.”

Tang Yi sighed as he stared right into Shao Fei’s eyes. The guy was standing in front of him, tray in hand and his friends right behind him. They were almost trembling, avoiding to even gaze in his direction.

“What are you doing?”

Shao Fei grinned as he came to sit down next to him, motioning his friends to do the same. They scrambled to sit down, though they still wouldn’t look at him. Tang Yi closed his eyes as he felt anger bubble up in his chest. He threw Shao Fei a dirty look as the guy took the first bite of his meal.

Thankfully, he didn’t push Tang Yi much further and mostly left him alone for the rest of the lunch break, talking cheerfully to his friends who seemed on the edge of passing out. Tang Yi wanted to chuckle at that, the way they were forcing themselves to be in his presence for Shao Fei. Tang Yi had never had friends, but he imagined having people who’d go to this length for you was pretty awesome.

When he got up to put his tray away, Shao Fei followed him. It annoyed Tang Yi furthermore, because now everyone was seeing them walk together. His reputation was ruined for sure.

“See, it wasn’t that hard.”

Tang Yi didn’t understand why, even though he was incredibly irritated, he didn’t want to hurt Shao Fei. Usually, he’d hit the ones who got in his way. Or when he couldn’t, like with his foster family, he’d just imagine he was hurting them. It had lead to him wondering if he was a psychopath many times before.

But here, even if he tried to convince himself that he should punch Shao Fei square in the face, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Even if it would end the rumors of their friendship that were to come. Tang Yi didn’t get why he tolerated that guy.

“I want to punch you so bad,” he replied.

Shao Fei stared at him, eyebrows raised. “Oh yeah? Do it, then.”

Tang Yi chuckled, an arrogant smirk coming on his lips. “I think you’ll break in two if I do that.”

Shao Fei laughed out loud as they exited the canteen. “I think you underestimate me.”

Tang Yi rolled his eyes. That guy was too much for him. Truth to be told, he felt overwhelmed. He’d been alone his whole life but now he wasn’t anymore. And he didn’t hate it either.

“You see, Tang Yi, I don’t think you can punch me.”

He looked at Shao Fei who was looking incredibly smug. His stomach tightened with irritation. Why was this guy always right? Could he just… stop talking for a minute?

“I think you love me so much you couldn’t punch me, even if you wanted.”

His face felt warm. “You know me that well, do you?”

Shao Fei bit his lip, lacing their hands together as they arrived in their deserted classroom. “You’re not denying it, though.”

“Shao Fei, don’t push your luck,” he retorted, eyebrows furrowed low on his forehead. Shao Fei just kissed his cheek.

“Thank you for letting me eat with you.”

Tang Yi watched him go back to his seat as a few students entered the room. He imagined he must have looked like a dead fish to them, mouth agape and wide eyes. He felt like a fish out of water, too. In a very much uncharted territory.

“Do you want to come to my apartment?” had said Shao Fei.

Tang Yi had immediately nodded. Yes. Everything but staying outside wandering the streets until his foster parents would accept him home.

Shao Fei’s apartment was just like the ones Tang Yi had seen in TV shows, except less perfect of course. They got rid of their shoes and walked to Shao Fei’s room. It was very silent. Tang Yi wasn’t used to silence in his own home, there was always someone there talking or existing loudly.

“Your parents aren’t home?”

Shao Fei shook his head as they entered his room and he put his bag on the floor. “Nah, they’re at work. They should come back in a couple of hours.”

They sat side by side on his bed and Shao Fei laced their hands together with a smile.

“What do you wanna do?” Tang Yi asked. He knew that the atmosphere was good for doing more intimate things, but he also realized that Shao Fei probably would never want to do anything of that nature after their first kiss in that haunted hallway.

Shao Fei squeezed his hands. “Let’s study.”

Tang Yi widened his eyes. He hadn’t expected that. “No way,” he chuckled.

Shao Fei pouted. “Come on, I need to do my homework anyway. And you never take any note in school because you’re sleeping, so I could help you get good grades.”

“Shao Fei,” he replied, clutching their laced hands on his own knee. “I’m gonna be really honest, okay? I know that this is who you are… Pushy, headstrong, obsessed with helping others… and I accept it. I accept that you can be very annoying sometimes.”

“Hey!” Shao Fei protested with another pout. Tang Yi did all he could to look at him in the eyes.

“I can’t… put words on what we are, or why I tolerate you the way I do, but I do. I don’t want to change you, so… could you not try and change me?”

Shao Fei looked away for a moment as he thought it over, before looking back at him. “So you’re just gonna continue the same old way?”

Tang Yi nodded. “It’s always worked for me. You have to trust that I know what’s best for me.”

Shao Fei bit his lip. He didn’t seem very happy with it all. “And where do I fit in in all of this?”

Tang Yi chuckled as he got closer to him, knocking their shoulders together. “Well I’m here, aren’t I?”

Shao Fei finally smiled and Tang Yi couldn’t help but kiss him as he did so. Yes. Even his same old boring life would feel slightly better with Shao Fei around.

He ended up falling asleep as they watched a movie. Shao Fei’s bed was the most comfortable thing he had ever laid on. His body was warm, cuddling against his, and his pillow was massaging his head in the best way possible. So of course, Tang Yi had fallen asleep.

When he woke up, Shao Fei was looking at him, hand caressing his hair softly. He was pouting.

“You already sleep all day in class and now you sleep during our precious boyfriend time.”

Tang Yi smirked. Shao Fei was hellbent on that whole boyfriend thing, wasn’t he. Apart from that, he did feel weird. More rested than he had been in a while. Shao Fei’s fingers continued to massage his scalp as he sighed.

“I don’t sleep well at home.”

“Why? Don’t they treat you well?”

Tang Yi chuckled as he rolled his eyes. “My stab wound happened because my foster brother pulled a knife on another one and I tried to deescalate the situation.”

Shao Fei’s hand was now still as he let out a gasp. “Tang Yi,” he simply uttered, and the taller boy just closed his eyes. It hurt him to get his pity. He didn’t want anyone’s pity, ever.  He still couldn’t stop himself from talking though.

“My foster parents are collecting kids. Fifteen, to be exact. The apartment is big enough for 10. They are money hungry & barely feed us. They don’t give us money outside of our lunch cards, they buy us new clothes once a year and we don’t get to choose. They have never hugged any of us, or spoken a tender word. All they do is shout at us to leave the house early and come back as late as we can.”

His voice was trembling slightly, from saying what had been weighing on his heart for years. Shao Fei’s hand laced with his in comfort.

“Why?”

“Because that’s how their earn their lives. They collect children and cash in fifteen monthly checks. They use like 10% of it on us and the rest on whatever they want. A lot of my step siblings are dealing with mental health issues, but they don’t care. They see me and my foster brothers come back home black and blue but they don’t care. One of them stabs me but they don’t care. They didn’t bring me to the hospital because they didn’t want to alert the authorities.”

“Tang Yi…” Shao Fei’s eyes were wide with understanding and support. “Why don’t you report them?”

Tang Yi smirked as he met his gaze. “Oh, I will. I’m 18 in 6 months. My birthday gift to myself will be to ensure that they never mistreat another kid like me.”

“So, the reason why you always rob those underclassmen out of their canteen cards…”

“I sell the credit on those cards to get myself some money. With it I can buy a few snacks, or a new t-shirt if mine gets damaged, which it will.”

Shao Fei sighed, brows furrowed. “How many hours do you sleep at night?”

“3? or 4? Ever since the stabbing it’s been less, though. I’m too anxious it will happen again.”

Shao Fei’s hand went to caress his face as their eyes met. “Tang Yi, you are the bravest person I’ve ever encountered. I am so proud of you. Keep fighting.”

He left a small peck on Tang Yi’s lips. His eyes were kept shut long after it, Tang Yi being too afraid to cry if he opened them again. Shao Fei believed him. Shao Fei was proud of him. Shao Fei was rooting for him. In that moment, Tang Yi felt stronger than ever before.

He launched himself on Shao Fei who let out a surprised cry, burying his face in his neck as his arms brought him close. Tang Yi still couldn’t bring himself to say ‘thank you’, but he sure hoped Shao Fei got the message.

Lately, Tang Yi’s life had been better than usual. He had started going to fetch Shao Fei before they went to school. At first the other boy was the one who waited for him, but Tang Yi had realized that he lived much closer to the school, and it also gave him the opportunity to get beaten up before he was joined by him. The threat of Shao Fei getting rigged into one of his fights had become worrisome over the past two months. Tang Yi never wanted to see it happen.

Of course, Shao Fei had brought up him wanting Tang Yi to stop fighting, but Tang Yi always ended up shutting him up with his lips. He’d still get beaten up, though he tried to get away from it more often than before. Shao Fei would dress his wounds every time with a sigh, but would still kiss the top of his head when he was done.

But things had been good. They’d spend a lot of time together, Shao Fei coming up to him in the empty classroom during the recesses, them eating together at lunch with Shao Fei’s slightly more relaxed friends, then hanging out at Shao Fei’s house until it was time for dinner. Actually, Tang Yi ended up staying for dinner a few times a month too, making the most out of the delicious food he was served compared to the one in his own home.

Tang Yi’s life had been better than usual, until the first trimester exams announced themselves. Shao Fei had stressed him out about the importance of these to get into a good university and Tang Yi hadn’t had the heart to tell him yet again that he didn’t plan on applying to universities. It’s not like he could ever get in anyway.

He had still ended up stressed out anyway, reading Shao Fei’s notes for the first time a few days before the exams as Shao Fei scolded him for not paying attention. In the end, he had managed to cheat in four subjects and improvise in the others.

After an intense week of work, Tang Yi lied on Shao Fei’s bed with a sigh. Shao Fei laid next to him, head on Tang Yi’s forearm.

“I think I messed up the biology exam,” Shao Fei said, and Tang Yi could tell he was genuinely upset.

Tang Yi caressed his hair. “You say that every time, but you always end up with the best grade.”

Shao Fei pouted. “You don’t know that. Maybe I really messed up those exams.”

Tang Yi rolled his eyes. Shao Fei was being dramatic as always. He opened his arms as an invitation, which Shao Fei took immediately by rushing into his arms, head buried deep on his chest.

“Let’s look at it positively. We’re free for the next three months before the next exams.”

“Hum, no. You’re free. I’ll still be working like a madman.”

Tang Yi chuckled as Shao Fei’s voice got muffled by his chest. “Yes, sir. You’re always working like a madman.”

Shao Fei pinched his waist, making him jump in a gasp. Tang Yi couldn’t let that affront go unpunished, so he did just the same, making Shao Fei scrunch up his face as he laughed. He rolled over so he could be on top, and the battle continued for a while. Until Tang Yi, the experimented fighter, grabbed Shao Fei’s wrists and plastered them against his pillow.

“You can’t win against me,” he teased with wiggled eyebrows.

Shao Fei huffed. “That’s a flat out lie. You do everything I tell you to do.”

Tang Yi bit his lip. He wasn’t wrong.

Shao Fei used his unfocused state to kiss him, Tang Yi’s hold loosening on his wrists and allowing him to bring his arms around his neck as their kisses deepened.

It wasn’t the first time they kissed that much. It wasn’t the first time it happened in Shao Fei’s bed. And it definitely wasn’t the first time Tang Yi had to stop himself. As soon as he felt himself almost going too far, Tang Yi put a hand on Shao Fei’s chest to stop him. He looked at the clock hung on his wall.

“It’s getting late. I should go home.”

But as he tried to get up, Shao Fei pulled him by the wrist so hard Tang Yi fell back on top of him, almost smothering him. He was pouting. Tang Yi furrowed his eyebrows. What had he done this time?

“Why are you always like that?”

“Uh?” Tang Yi let out, feeling a bit overwhelmed.

Shao Fei took his hand and played with it for a bit, staring into space. “Do you not… want to have sex now that we’re actually dating? It didn’t seem to bother you before.”

Tang Yi choked on air, feeling his face warm up like never before. He didn’t believe he had actually blushed before, but it seemed as if that was what was happening. He was so taken aback by that question he was struggling to find his words.

“Shao Fei…” he uttered with difficulty. “I thought… you were the one who didn’t want to do it. Last time you were so mad at me because of it. So I thought you just… didn’t want sex.”

Shao Fei stared at him for a minute, before hitting him on the forehead. Tang Yi furrowed his brows as he realized that this was yet another thing that only Shao Fei could do without getting hit in return.

“I already told you that I was mad because we weren’t together then, idiot,” Shao Fei retorted, launching himself at Tang Yi, his arms pulling him back on top of him. They stared into each other’s eyes for a minute or two before Shao Fei left a kiss on his lips. “We don’t have to go all the way right now, you know.”

Tang Yi felt breathless. “Couldn’t you have told me two months ago? I have been holding back for no reason!” he scolded.

Shao Fei chuckled, and Tang Yi decided to punish him with more kisses, which this time could freely evolve into more. Shao Fei was right for one thing though, he really did everything he told him. Even the things he only thought Shao Fei wanted.

That evening, Tang Yi stayed for dinner as Shao Fei’s hand stroked his knee under the table. He observed his boyfriend chat happily with his parents, the perfect family that had accepted him as sort of theirs. And he realized that, for the very first time in a long, long while, he wasn’t scared of the future anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhhhh! This chapter was so fluffy, I can’t with myself lmao. I hope you enjoyed it!


	5. Baby

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait, writing the ending was hard because I wanted it to fit my vision & also I still had quite a few scenes to write. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this very last chapter :)

Tang Yi lied on the ground, breathless. To add to the drama of the scene, it had starting raining. He sighed as he tried to get up, feeling his entire body sore. His knee was hurting so standing up was hard.

It had been a while since Tang Yi had been beaten up that bad. He had encountered the guy he had punched in the stomach twice – not that he remembered him, but the guy wouldn’t stop repeating it – and unfortunately he was with six other of his friends. This time Tang Yi couldn’t escape.

Lately, he hadn’t been enjoying fighting as much as he used to. Before, there was this kind of playfulness to it, as if it was a game. Who cared if he got hurt in the process, he didn’t mind anyway. Fighting was the only thing he had going on in his life.

Now it wasn’t the case anymore though. Tang Yi had Shao Fei. And as annoying as that boy was, he was also incredibly optimistic and it was contagious. He made Tang Yi happier, but also less scared for the future.

So now, fighting was kind of… useless. Speaking of Shao Fei, Tang Yi knew he’d be scolded by him when he’d arrive in front of his building. He was just happy Shao Fei wasn’t with him. He never wanted to see him hurt because of his own mistakes.

“Absolute idiot.”

Tang Yi sighed as Shao Fei looked annoyed. “Do I look good?” he joked, because he had nothing else to respond.

Shao Fei crossed his arms over his chest. “Your bruises were finally starting to fade. We were almost gonna be able to see your face without them. And now my parents are gonna ask more questions.”

“Your parents like me, though.”

It was more a question than a statement. Tang Yi hoped his parents liked him, because he loved them. He wanted to be cared for and accepted by them more than anything.

“They love you more than me,” Shao Fei replied with a pout. “But still, they’ll ask questions.”

“Tell them the truth. I’m sure they’ll understand.”

Shao Fei stayed silent as he put his hands on his shoulders. Tang Yi didn’t have the courage to tell him he was kind of hurting him because that would irritate him even more.

“Tang Yi… You’re almost 18 now. We’re graduating in four months. Can’t you stop fighting?”

Tang Yi sighed. “Shao Fei, we have talked about this. Once you start fighting, you can’t stop it. It’s a vicious circle, you hit someone so they want revenge. Even if I don’t fight, I’ll get beaten to death.”

Shao Fei looked annoyed, even though he already knew Tang Yi would say that. “So how are you gonna stop fighting? What is the solution here?”

Tang Yi stayed silent. He knew his answer wouldn’t satisfy Shao Fei, so he preferred to say nothing. He didn’t know how to stop it.

“Listen, I’ve been trying to get away from fighting as much as I can, but this is all I can do -”

“Let’s go home.” Shao Fei interrupted him. “We need to see if you broke anything before we go to class.”

“But we’ll miss first period,” Tang Yi pointed out. Shao Fei would usually rather die than miss one minute of class.

He shrugged. “I can’t let my boyfriend hurt and do nothing, can I?”

Tang Yi smiled a tiny bit, following him inside.

“Today is the last day to apply to most universities. So if you’re still not done after all the reminders I gave you, you better do it before midnight,” the teacher reminded with his jaded expression.

Tang Yi watched Shao Fei as he nodded eagerly. He had already sent his applications a while ago, of course. Not like there was any doubt he’d be accepted. Tang Yi hadn’t had the heart to tell him he hadn’t applied to any.

The boy was relentless; even when Tang Yi had first explained to him that with his results he wouldn’t be able to pursue a higher education, Shao Fei had insisted in trying to convince him. So after a few tries, Tang Yi had just… let it go. Even if he knew it would create a bigger problem down the line.

The line arrived that very same day. The weather had been particularly gloomy that day, and Tang Yi had struggled to walk on the rain-soaked ground with his busted knee. Thankfully after two weeks he was now almost fully healed. Shao Fei held onto his arm as they walked to his apartment.

“So, can you tell me where you applied now? So I can start planning for next year,” he queried.

Tang Yi sighed. Should he rip the band-aid now? “Shao Fei, with my grades… I didn’t apply.”

Suddenly, Shao Fei’s hand wasn’t on him anymore. Tang Yi turned around to see him frozen in place with an unreadable expression.

“Shao Fei…”

“So you just -” he interrupted. “- didn’t even try.”

“Not everyone is meant to go to university, though. Especially since I’d have to pay the tuition all on my own,” he explained. “I would have never been accepted anyways.”

Shao Fei chuckled bitterly. “You know, Tang Yi… the past few months, I was imagining what it would be like for us next year. Both in university, maybe living together… and you didn’t even tell me you never even planned on applying in the first place.”

“I tried to tell you,” he defended. “But you know how you are… Once you have an idea of how things should be, you never let it go. So I gave up trying to correct you.”

Shao Fei rolled his eyes. “So now it’s my fault.”

He shook his hand. “I didn’t say that. We can still live together. You’ll study and I’ll start working. I’ll find an honest job and we’ll be happy together.”

With that, he tried to lace their hands together to appease him, but Shao Fei pushed him away, eyes shut. “Tang Yi, I thought we could be a good match. Even though you don’t have ambition, you fight all the time and I hate it, you never apologize or say thank you. Even when my friends tell me you’re scary or my parents wonder if you have a bad influence on me.”

Tang Yi bit his lip. It hurt to know Shao Fei’s parents doubted him like that. He guessed that even though they seemed to like him, they would still find it weird that he was so bruised all the time.

“Even with all of that, I’ve loved you from the moment I’ve laid eyes on you. I’ve wanted to help you, to make you a better person. And for a while, I thought it worked.”

Tang Yi felt a ball of sadness stuck in his chest. “I’m not a charity project, Shao Fei. You can’t approach me with the idea of fixing me.”

“I love you. I want you to be happier and more successful.”

“I’m happier,” he retorted. “Because I’m with you.”

“I deserve better, Tang Yi.”

Tang Yi gulped down. Somehow, from all the punches he’d ever felt, this one felt the most painful. And Shao Fei hadn’t even laid a hand on him.

“It has taken you that long to realize that?” he said sarcastically, eyebrows raised on his forehead. Of course Shao Fei deserved better. It was a picture as clear as day. But he had been the one who pursued him, wasn’t he?

Shao Fei looked infinitely sad, his wide eyes staring deep into Tang Yi’s soul. “No. I’ve always known. But somehow I thought that you would change… grow up.”

Tang Yi nodded, unable to hold his gaze any longer. His jaw was tightly shut. “I can’t grow up when I’ve never gotten to be a kid, Shao Fei.”

Silence fell upon them. It had started raining again. Lately, all the sky did was rain, like he had someone to mourn or something he was missing. A guy walked up to them. Tang Yi didn’t have to recognize to understand what he wanted.

Tang Yi grabbed Shao Fei by the arm and pulled him behind him. He stared deep into the guy’s eyes. “What do you want?”

The guy smirked. He was easily twice their age, and was much bigger than what Tang Yi was used to.

“Sorry to interrupt your little gay argument, but I have something for you.”

Tang Yi barely had the time to furrow his eyebrows that he was punched square in the face. He fell down, his bruised body hurting even more than previously. Before he could even open his eyes again, he heard a punch. As quickly as he could he got up, seeing the guy go in for a second punch and pushing him as hard as he could before grabbing Shao Fei’s wrist and running as fast as he could with his not-yet-healed knee.

They stopped in an empty residential alley and the first thing Tang Yi did was grab Shao Fei’s face.

“Are you okay? Where did he hit you?”

Shao Fei sighed. “He didn’t hit me. I hit him. And it hurt,” he explained as he brought up is reddened knuckles in front of his face.

Tang Yi stared at him before breaking into a happy chuckle. Shao Fei was okay. He hadn’t been hit. Tang Yi’s worst nightmare hadn’t happened.

When he looked up at him though, Shao Fei wasn’t laughing. “Shao Fei...” he sighed. “We can still be great together, even without me going to a university.”

“How are you gonna find an honest job with that beat up face?” Shao Fei retorted.

Tang Yi bit his lip. He had thought about it too. “I’ll stop fighting. It’ll be hard but I’ll do my best.”

“How can you when you can’t spend one hour in this city without somebody wanting revenge on you?”

Tang Yi didn’t know how to reply. Shao Fei sighed. “Tang Yi… I could ignore the baggage that comes with you when we were in high school. But in a few months we’re becoming adults. I’m going to university. I’ll probably find a part-time job. This will be real life. Not a fantasy world where you can fight all day long and not work hard.”

“I told you I’ll do the same,” he replied, grabbing his hand. “You’re not leaving me enough time to change, Shao Fei. I just need time.”

“But how can you guarantee you’ll change?” Shao Fei pushed his hand away as he shook his head. “I need to think.”

Tang Yi sighed. “Okay, we can talk about it later.”

Shao Fei looked at him with sad eyes. “I meant that we should take a break.”

The rain had now stopped. Tang Yi could barely hear the city’s background noise with his ears ringing like that. He gulped down, jaw tight and eyes avoiding any contact with Shao Fei’s. He nodded. “Sure.”

And with that, without even another glance, he walked home with his busted knee and his throbbing face. More than that though, if Tang Yi was able to let himself cry, he was sure now would be the time to do so. It had been a gloomy day indeed.

It wasn’t the first time Tang Yi realized he was depressed. He’d been acutely aware of it for a long while now, but after knowing what being with Shao Fei felt like it all just felt worse.

It’s not like he wasn’t angry at Shao Fei either; he resented him for leaving him at the first difficulty in their relationship. Though at the same time, he couldn’t blame him. It’s not like Tang Yi would’ve chosen to stay with himself either.

Most of the time though, Tang Yi was just sad. And lonely. He’d been alone his whole life but now it seemed as if Shao Fei’s presence had become instrumental to his survival.

It had been a week, and Shao Fei was ignoring him. Tang Yi had resumed to eating alone and spending his recesses sleeping in the deserted classroom. This time without Shao Fei caressing his hair tenderly.

In a week, Tang Yi would be eighteen. He’d started searching for jobs and had an interview the day after. He was surprised enough to have obtained it, but apparently the owner of the small convenience store was looking for someone scary looking to keep the thieves away. Tang Yi definitely fit the job description.

“You won’t fuck it up right?” the owner asked, arms crossed over his chest with a suspicious.

“Listen, I know I don’t look very thrust-worthy -”

“You don’t say.”

Tang Yi sighed before throwing him his best smile. “But I’ll do everything in my power not to fuck it up. I’m really trying to better myself here.”

“Do you fight a lot?”

He nodded. “I used to. But not anymore. I’ve been making amends.”

He had been making amends indeed. Now every time that he encountered someone who wanted to fight him because he had hit him in the past, he found a compromise.

“If you punch me and I don’t punch back, will you leave me alone from now on?”

Every single of them had laughed in his face, but ended up accepting. Some had even given up punching him and turned around. The result was the same; he was as battered as before, but at least he knew it’d be the last time. 

He ended up getting the job and started on the spot. He worked from 3 in the afternoon to 8 at night every day including the week-end. But he honestly didn’t hate it. He was even learning to be more polite to clients, with the owner silently judging him during his first day.

In an instant, he was eighteen. He woke up to the same scent of freshly bought breakfast. He showered, got dressed, took his school bag and breakfast and got out of there without a word from anyone in the house. But Tang Yi knew that when he’d come home all of his stuff – not that he had a lot – would be in a bag and his foster parents would say their goodbyes to him. He’d seen it happen many times before. But he would be the last it happened to. Tonight, he would expose them. He had called the child services and set up an appointment at his apartment for tonight.

Shao Fei was staring at him again, he noticed. It felt like they were back at the beginning of the school year, when Tang Yi couldn’t stand the guy. Except that now he could. In fact, he loved the guy. He sighed as he realized it. He loved Shao Fei… That was unfortunate.

He slept through most of the first period, but woke up a bit before the bell rang. He watched the class empty as Shao Fei signaled his friends to go out without him. Tang Yi got up as he was walking up to him. He was holding a small cardboard box.

“Happy birthday,” he simply said as he opened it to reveal a cupcake with those words written on it.

Tang Yi smiled. This was his first birthday cake in a long while. He took the box from Shao Fei’s hands and their fingers brushed for a brief moment, sending his heart into a stroke.

“Thank you.”

Shao Fei’s eyebrows jumped on his forehead as a smirk came onto his lips. “You thanked me. I haven’t heard that one before.”

Tang Yi smiled as he put the box on his desk, before grabbing Shao Fei by the waist so their bodies could be flush against each other. Shao Fei gasped before blushing, making him chuckle.

“I mean it. Thank you. For everything you’ve done for me,” he uttered. “I’ve… found a job.”

Shao Fei stared at him in surprise. “Really?”

Tang Yi nodded proudly. “And I’m sorry. That I’m… not really perfect boyfriend material. But I’m not ready to say goodbye to you, Shao Fei. I really think we can work it out. Maybe I’m not who you pictured yourself ending up with -”

“You’re boyfriend material, Tang Yi,” Shao Fei suddenly interrupted, his hands squeezing his shoulders. “It was so fucked up of me to imply otherwise. You’ve been so good to me even though you’re not used to letting someone in. You are good enough. For me and everyone else. And I’m sorry that I hurt you like that.”

Tang Yi was now almost crushing him in his arms as he felt his eyes getting wet for the first time in a long time. “Can you… give me another chance now? I’ve stopped fighting. I’ve settled it with more than half the guys who hate me and I’ll continue doing so until there’s no one left.”

Shao Fei chuckled. “What have you done with Tang Yi? You’ve stopped fighting, you’re saying thank you and sorry, and you’re calling yourself my boyfriend… I never thought I’d get to hear that.”

Tang Yi bit his lip. “I’m becoming a better person. I want to be better, with you. So?”

Shao Fei was grinning, passing his arms behind his neck and bringing his face close. “Wasn’t it obvious that I was miserable without you during the past two weeks?”

Tang Yi shook his head. “You looked just fine.”

“You did too!”

“Well I wasn’t.”

Shao Fei’s eyes softened at that admission. “I missed you so much. I was just trying to figure it all out… and find the courage to apologize for hurting you.”

“Well it’s a done deal now,” Tang Yi squeezed his waist. “So… can I have another chance now?”

Shao Fei shook his head. “It’s not another chance. It’s the very same one. I know you’ll keep working hard on yourself and I’m so proud of you Tang Yi. I’m so proud to be your boyfriend.”

Tang Yi hugged as hard as he could. “You’re too cheesy. You’ll make me cry,” he said, voice wavering.

He didn’t have to see Shao Fei to know he was smirking. “Well, you should. It’s good to cry once in a while.”

So Tang Yi let the tears he’d been holding in for years flow from his eyes, directly onto Shao Fei’s shoulder.

“Happy birthday to… you,” Shao Fei hummed happily, having stuck a small candle into the cupcake he had bought him.

It had only been two weeks since Tang Yi had been in his room, sat on his bed, but it had felt like longer. Thankfully Tang Yi had asked for his day off in exchange for him working a double shift on the week-end. He had thought he’d be packing his stuff and preparing to meet the child services, but instead he was with Shao Fei. 

He blew on the tiny flame, watching it disappear in front of his eyes. Shao Fei cheered him on, kissing his cheek tenderly. He extended it in the direction of his mouth.

“Come on, eat. I know you’re always hungry.”

Tang Yi chuckled as he took a bite, letting the delicious chocolate taste invade his mouth. Before he could swallow it, Shao Fei was giving him an envelope.

“Shao Fei… You bought me a gift even though we were fighting?” he asked with a smile.  
His boyfriend nodded. “You know me. I live for principles. And fighting or not, I wanted you to have that.”

Tang Yi opened it carefully, it being the first gift he received in fifteen years and all. When he opened it, it was full of cash. He stared at Shao Fei.

“Shao Fei… I can’t accept that,” he shook his head, pushing the envelope in his direction.

“Okay,” Shao Fei shrugged, getting up and opening his window, dangling the envelope out of it. “I’ll just throw this away then, since I only gave you what I could.”

Tang Yi sighed as he got up, snatching the envelope from his fingers. “Okay, I’ll keep it. But I’ll reimburse you.”

“That’s not how gifts work,” Shao Fei teased, knocking their shoulders together. “Honestly, this is almost a gift to myself in the end, since you’ll probably end up using this money in renting an apartment with me.”

Tang Yi laced their hands together and brought them to his lips, kissing each one of his knuckles.

When he arrived, the woman he had spoken to was there. He explained the situation further to her and went up with her, though he asked her to wait outside so he could get his things beforehand. His foster parents were waiting for him with a bag full of his things. Tang Yi did a tour of the small apartment to check that everything was there, before taking the bag from their hands. A few of his foster siblings were here.

“Have a good life, Tang Yi.” His foster mother said as her husband nodded.

Tang Yi smiled. He’d heard that sentence said by them to many of his foster siblings before. He despised it. Good life? With the horrible conditions they all lived in, it would be hard to get one. Being kicked out of the house at night without them even asking if he had somewhere to sleep was not a good life.

But Tang Yi was smiling because he would. He’d fight hard to have a good life, far away from them and all the ways in which they had hurt him. He nodded one last time, waving to a few of his foster siblings, and got out.

Before they could close the door, though, the child services’ worker appeared in front of them. Tang Yi sent her a smile, and got away as he heard her introduce herself.

Shao Fei’s thighs were comfortable as his fingers stroked his hair. Tang Yi could feel himself starting to fall asleep.

“Thank you for lodging me until I can find an apartment,” he whispered, eyes closed.

Shao Fei smiled. “We’ll find an apartment together. And my parents are delighted. You know they love you.”

Tang Yi pouted. “But you said they thought I was a bad influence on you.”

“I...” Shao Fei bit his lip. “I was exaggerating. They only asked why you’re all bruised. But now that you’ll stop fighting, you won’t have that problem anymore.”

Tang Yi grinned. “I’m excited to see my face without them for the first time.”

Shao Fei kissed his forehead tenderly. “They’ll be healed in a few months. I can’t wait to see your face underneath the bruises too.”

Life had resumed as usual; well, with the exception that Tang Yi was living with Shao Fei of course. But apart from that, they’d spend all of their recesses together, they’d eat lunch together and go home together as always.

Honestly, they were barely pretending anymore, and many of their classmates had seen them together. Tang Yi couldn’t bring himself to care. It was the end of the year and it’s not like Tang Yi had any reputation to uphold anymore. He didn’t even need traumatized freshmen to buy him lunch anymore, being able to pay for it himself with his part-time job.

They knew that people knew, especially Shao Fei’s friends who seemed to have finally let go of their last bias against Tang Yi. Even some of their teachers seemed to have noticed something.

They would still spend their recesses in the empty classroom, Shao Fei sitting next to Tang Yi playing with his hair, or hands. Tang Yi had been sleeping much better these days, finally getting enough sleep to survive the day without having to take naps.

So now he usually spent their breaks eating the snacks Shao Fei gave him. Even though he was well fed now, the sensation of hunger wasn’t going away yet. He always felt hungry, like he could eat more. Years of barely eating daily had made him crave food in a huge, unnatural way.

That day, on the last month of school, he was munching on some Pocky as Shao Fei’s slim fingers worked on his scalp. His head was laying on his shoulder while Shao Fei’s rested on top of his.

Suddenly, their next teacher entered the class and spotted them immediately. Shao Fei jerked up, putting some distance between them. The teacher was smirking.

“I didn’t know you were such… great friends.”

Shao Fei was blushing, embarrassed to have been caught by the most important adult figure in his life after his parents. Tang Yi grinned. He had despised that sarcastic teacher since day 1, and the way he’d always humiliate him publicly.

“Oh come on teacher, we’re boyfriends,” he responded under Shao Fei’s panicked gaze.

The teacher’s eyebrows shot up on his forehead. “Is that what they call it these days.”

Tang Yi chuckled. “Boyfriend. Lover. Partner… you know the drill, teacher.”

The older man just stared at them. Tang Yi got up.

“Baby, I wanna go to the bathroom. Accompany me?”

Shao Fei was mortified while he grabbed his hand and walked out of the room, sending the teacher a wink. Their entire class was waiting outside as the recess would end very soon and saw their laced hands, but Tang Yi couldn’t bring himself to care.

“Tang Yi!” Shao Fei shouted, still embarrassed.

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t help myself,” he smirked. “Though now everyone knows we’re together. You should be happy.”

Shao Fei looked around to see his classmates and friends sending him a surprised smile. He nodded at them and stared at their laced hands.

“You keep impressing me.”

Tang Yi wiggled his eyebrows, squeezing his palm in his. They arrived in the deserted bathroom and Shao Fei left a kiss on the corner of his lips.

“You should call me baby more often.”

Tang Yi scrunched his nose. “No way, I only did that to annoy the teacher.”

Shao Fei pouted. “But it was sooo cute…”

Tang Yi rolled his eyes, his hands falling around Shao Fei’s waist. “Let’s skip this class then, baby.”

Shao Fei looked both surprised by the offer and turned on by the word he used.

“I didn’t even need to go to the bathroom. But now that we’re here, let’s skip class, no?”

Shao Fei shook his head with disbelief. “Last time you wanted to do it in the haunted hallway, now you wanna do it in the bathroom… my boyfriend is a pervert.” 

Tang Yi smirked. “We can go back to the haunted hallway, if you want.”

Shao Fei grabbed his shoulders. “No! Here is fine… baby.”

Tang Yi couldn’t help but laugh at the word, though he quickly stopped once Shao Fei kissed him again.

The weather was so damn warm. Tang Yi fanned himself as he looked as his phone every five seconds. Where was he? Tang Yi would have melted before he could be here.

He smiled when he finally spotted him in the distance. He was wearing his uniform and chatting with a group of new students like him. He grinned when he saw him and immediately waved them goodbye before running in his direction.

“Hey baby,” he greeted. He had actually picked up the word after a few months of using it ironically. “How was your first day at university?”

“Good. You know I’m still not used to your bare face.”

Tang Yi chuckled as he caressed his freshly shaven face. It had been fully bruise-ridden for about a week, and he still got surprised when he saw himself in the mirror.

They laced their fingers together as they walked home. “How was work, baby?”

Tang Yi shrugged. “Fine. I’m gonna start looking for something else in my free time though. So I can spoil you more.”

“Oooh,” Shao Fei teased. “No need. Everyone knows I’m the sugar daddy in this relationship.”

Tang Yi rolled his eyes as their shoulders knocked against one another. It was too warm, but he would never let go of Shao Fei’s hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hehe the first snack Tang Yi eats in this fic is Pocky. The last one too. I love creating insignificant parallels in my own fics ;) Confession: I hate couples who call each other ‘baby’ lol. But Gameboys has made it (slightly) grow on me. It’s over!!! Wow, I didn’t plan for this fic to get this long when I started writing it lmao. I did really enjoy writing it though, and it seems as if you enjoyed reading it. Thank you so much for the support & stay tuned for my next work :)


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